Brandee Dallow knows that some people in the jewelry industry may question her appointment as CEO of the International Colored Gemstone Association (ICA)—how could someone with a diamond-centric background be the best fit for a group dedicated to the colored gemstone sector?

With a laugh, Dallow says she wondered the same thing before she agreed to take on the full-time job, which she starts on Monday. But with the same humility and honesty that led to her new role, Dallow says her desire to learn, her enthusiasm for people and travel, and her vast industry experience are what make her the right person to lead ICA now.

“It’s a bit of a dream come true in a lot of ways,” she tells JCK in a wide-ranging conversation. “My true love as I’ve grown as a person is the work I’ve gotten to do with associations. I love working with people who are volunteering with a group they care deeply about.

“It also uses my experiences as a professional and ties it all together. What’s also interesting is that I’m coming to this from a board president or board member point of view,” says Dallow, the current president of the Community for Ethical Jewelry (formerly Ethical Metalsmiths) and a past president of the Women’s Jewelry Association (a “life-changing” experience, she says).

“Now, as a member of the staff, how will this work? What kind of manager will I be? What changes do I need to make now that I’m on the other side?” says Dallow.

Dallow is committed to using all the skills she has developed in her nearly three decades in the trade to make an impact on not only colored gemstones but the jewelry world in general. And she’ll do that by being laser- focused on the consumer.

That is where her marketer’s eye comes into play. Dallow has been a marketing VP at Rio Tinto Diamonds and Julius Klein, and she worked on De Beers public relations at advertising giant J. Walter Thompson. As ICA’s chief executive, she aims to unite the association under a primary goal of convincing consumers that jewelry is the best way to tell their stories. With a focus on colored gemstones, of course.

“Take that potential discovery of copper-bearing tourmalines in Ethiopia. What does that tell the consumer? How can we create meaning for them so that they become more interested in colored gemstones and want to buy them more?” Dallow remarks.

Most recently the chief communications and sustainability officer at Grandview Klein Diamond Group, Dallow has also worked for SCS Global and the Responsible Jewellery Council. She says she is prepared for the transition from diamonds to colored gemstones and for tackling any issues that may come her way at ICA—and for those early-morning and late-evening calls and Zoom meetings with trade members in Thailand, India, and Mozambique, as well as across North America.

“I’m coming at it not from the viewpoint of colored gemstones—I’ll learn all of that, and I can’t wait—but I’m bringing all of these ideas from my career: marketing, brand work, communications, public relations. We’re only going to get our product out there if we market and brand it properly,” says Dallow.

“How do you reach the consumer? It’s through guiding principles. When you see people learning about a diamond or a colored gemstone, they can share that knowledge down the line. They can tell those stories through the branding, marketing, and training we can build. Each individual, each company has a part of that story to tell from the miner to the cutter to the retailer.”

Dallow encourages jewelry professionals to collaborate and support the overall industry, not just their sector—practices captured by her “go and be great” sign-off on many LinkedIn posts.

“People in the jewelry community need to have an attitude that we are important. We are beloved. We are special. Jewelry will outlive all of us. People have worn it forever to tell their own story, to share how they feel,” she says.

“In many ways, the jewelry industry has been its own worst enemy. We are always saying what we can’t do; it’s time we talk about what we are. It’s a waste of breath to say what we can’t do. We don’t have time for that anymore.”

The three-stone diamond ring on Dallow’s hand is an example of jewelry’s storytelling potential, she says. The ring was a gift from her ex-husband, and she stopped wearing it for a time. But its beauty still affects her, and looking at it reminds her of her children and her marriage. Those are the stories related to the ring that she shares with others, not the diamonds’ cut or clarity.

“We work with such a special product,” Dallow says. “Ultimately it comes down an individual who has a unique piece of jewelry that means something to them. It is special. It tells a story that nothing else we wear or adorn ourselves with can possibly do.”

(Top photo courtesy of ICA)

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